The Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) recently announced that it will write down almost $11 Billion in assets by the end of Q4 in a move that has many experts speculating if Chevron's woes are the bellwether for the coming year for the oil industry.
Chevron's announcement came on last Tuesday, with the oil company stating its intentions to write down assets related to a project in the Gulf of Mexico, an LNG project in Canada, as well as its severely underperforming shale gas extraction efforts in Appalachia. Appalachian extraction efforts alone have been a thorn in the side of Chevron's investors for some time, largely due to the region's inability to produce profits despite half a billion dollars of investment in Q3 alone.
Chevron's write off is somewhat unsurprising after the company lowered its expectations for future gas and oil prices, likely a result of the ongoing trade war, which has been notorious for wreaking havoc on the energy industry. Chevron is looking to restructure its operations as a result of low natural gas prices and will potentially sell off assets to recoup losses.
Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth, however, remains optimistic in the face of the difficulties the company is facing. Wirth spoke with the Wall Street Journal, saying that Chevron had performed well in a difficult market but emphasized that the company needed to focus on its more promising prospects. "We have to make the tough choices to high-grade our portfolio and invest in the highest-return projects in the world we see ahead of us, and that's a different world than the one that lies behind us," said Wirth.
Chevron is far from alone in its struggle, however. As previously reported, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) experienced a rough third quarter, reporting a 15% drop in revenue, identifying unfavorable oil prices as the culprit. Chevron, Exxon, and many other energy corporations are facing the mutual threat of a glut in U.S. oil supply, partially caused by the China-U.S. Trade War. The glut in supply has kept prices unfavorably low for oil companies, wreaking havoc on earnings and creating an atmosphere of anxiety that has investors consistently concerned.
Other factors also play into the glut, however, such as the recent advances in technology that allow for greater access to oil deposits. The discovery of so many new deposits and the ease in which oil can be extracted has caused a spike in production, which, when considering the lack of demand from the trade war, has created a poor market for the energy industry.
The solution so far has been scaling back operations, a move that energy companies are pursuing internationally. Chevron now only operates in 18 countries, down from 40 at the beginning of the decade. Russia has led the charge in curtailing OPEC production cuts, with a 500,000 barrel production cut expected to last until March. Whether or not production cuts will help the energy industry gain traction is currently unknown, as gas and oil prices continue to remain low in the face of a continually rising supply that thus far has not be stymied by production cuts.